Have you ever wondered exactly how DIY-ers get their homemade bath bombs to explode with a rainbow of colors? Ready to take your homemade bath bombs to the next step? This tutorial walks you through the steps on how to make rainbow bar embeds for hidden rainbow bath bombs. So you’ll be able to create the colorful, show worthy bath bombs you love!

With the state of the current political climate here in Virginia – THREE scandals! How is that even possible? – I’ve turned to watching funny dog videos on the internet for comic relief. I also completely purged my friends list on facebook. A purge that seemed to be the best recourse, not just to escape unpleasant political events, but also to avoid the daily negativity, drama and downright mean comments people often leave. My friends list is now comprised of just ten people. Those who I am closest with and that mean the most to me.

What remained after the purge however was a surprise. Suddenly I’m now seeing all the pages of inspirational small businesses that I’d forgotten about. Along with a plethora of soapmaking groups that hadn’t shown up in my feed for a very long time. That purge was also how I discovered how to make rainbow embeds for hidden rainbow bath bombs.

This rainbow bar embed recipe (and photos) come courtesy of Clerissa Jakubowski. Not only was she gracious enough to share her recipe in one of the soapmaking groups I’m part of, she also gave me permission to share that same rainbow bar embed recipe with my readers. I won’t lie, her kindness made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And she helped remind me that there are still truly wonderful people in the world. People who actually want to help others without expecting anything in return. I hope you’ll show your thanks to Clerissa by giving her a follow on instagram. Or by supporting her future endeavors.

Notes:

The SLSA has NOT been tested in this recipe yet. She was curious to see if it would result in a slower release with more foam. So if you try it before Clerissa has a chance, I’d love for you to share your results in the comments. Additionally all measurements are by weight, with the distilled water being the only exception.

Clerissa also recommends inviting friends over to help with the embeds for your hidden rainbow bath bombs. They can mix each color batch at the same time as one another to prevent premature drying. Alternately, you should wrap each color mixture for the rainbow bar embeds in plastic film wrap as they are made so they don’t dry out before going into the mold.

Instructions:

#1. Using a scale, weigh out the baking soda and cream of tartar. Sift the baking soda and cream of tartar into a bowl. Set aside.

#2. In a separate container, thoroughly mix the EZ color with water.

#3. Now combine the glycerin and the oil of your choice together in another container. Mix to combine, then add the oil and glycerin mixture to the EZ color. Mix well.

#4. Add the EZ color mixture to the container with the baking soda. Then mix thoroughly to bring the color out.

#5. Allow the baking soda and EZ color mixture to dry.

#6. Once the baking soda mixture has dried, weigh out the citric acid and add it to the baking soda. (You’ll want to wear a face mask or respirator for this step. Additionally, if you’d like to include SLSA in your recipe, you would also add the SLSA at the same time as the citric acid.)

#7. Now spritz the mixture twice with 99% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. Mix thoroughly, then conduct a drop test. If the clump doesn’t hold together when dropped, then repeat the process until it does.

#8. Place the embed mixture for your hidden rainbow bath bombs.

How to Make Rainbow Bar Embeds

To create the rainbow bar embeds for your hidden rainbow bath bombs, you’ll need to make five batches of the above recipe – one for each color. Here’s how it’s done.

#1. Mix five color embeds (red, yellow, green, blue and purple) in separate bowls, using a different bowl for each color.

#2. Once the colors are ready to go into the mold, layer each color in order (red, yellow, green, blue and purple) in your mold on top of one another. (Neesa recommends using a silicone loaf mold.)

#4. Very carefully unmold your rainbow bar embed. Then cut the bar into slices. Be careful not to squish the bars.

#5. Now cut the slices you just made in half. Then cut them in half again so you get four rainbow bar embeds per slice.

#6. Allow the rainbow bar embeds to dry overnight. At that time, they are ready to be incorporated into your hidden rainbow bath bomb recipes! To do this, simply place an embed inside of your bath bombs when you are packing them into the mold.

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I’ve hosted several craft & cocktail nights already this summer. One project in particular however that a lot of friends and acquaintances wanted to try was bath bombs. But the logistics of setting up a DIY bath bomb party for a large group of people was a bit daunting.

As I only own one scale and everyone wanted to create their own custom bath bombs it took a bit of planning to pull the whole thing off. So, just how do you throw a DIY bath bomb party? Keep reading to learn how!

My recommendation is to look not only for a simple beginner bath bomb recipe, but perhaps use a no fail bath bomb recipe. You’ll also want to consider how your bath bombs are going to hold up in your current climate. Heat and humidity have a bad habit of turning a bath bomb success into a bath bomb fail and you don’t want your party guests to be disappointed.

Once you’ve found a recipe you think will work for your DIY bath bomb party, try it out! You’ll not only need to be sure that the recipe is easy to create, but that it’s going to be the success you’re hoping for. In addition, you’ll need to be confident in making the bath bomb recipe that you’ve chosen so you’re able to instruct your guests on not only the ins and outs of this project, but also to offer helpful tips if someone seems to be struggling to get it right.

Step Two

The next step will be designing a bath bomb instruction sheet! This sheet should offer customization choices for your party guests.

I created my recipe and instruction sheet with the title of the bath bombs at the top of the page followed by a space that my guests could write in their name and the creation date of their custom bath bombs. I then typed out a list of the basic ingredients that would be needed to make the backbone of the bath bombs. This was followed by customization choices where party guests were able to write in the types and amounts of the additional ingredients they chose to use.

You can offer just one or two options for customization such as color and scent for a quick and easy project. Alternately, if you have a lot of various materials on hand, you can also offer different options for butters, carrier oils, clay, micas, lake dyes, and/or botanicals. For each of the additional ingredient options, you can either pre-fill in the amounts needed or let your guests choose which ingredient to use. You can also create the recipe so that all of the additional ingredients are entirely optional.

I used a high amount of cocoa butter in the DIY bath bomb party recipe I chose to help the bath bombs stay together and unmold easily even in the summer heat. However, if you also want to give your guests the choice of using hard or even soft butters in their bath bomb recipe, then keep in mind you will need a way to melt the butters.

I have only two microwaves and very little kitchen space. Therefore my guest created bath bombs in stages in sets of two with one group picking up where the next group left off. This also allowed for those a little shy about plunging right into the process time to get a feel for how it all worked.

For my liquid additives, I designed my DIY bath bomb party recipe sheet so that carrier oils, fragrances, etc. were measured out in mL using graduated plastic transfer pipettes which can be purchased inexpensively in bulk. The dry ingredient additions were also measured in teaspoons rather than a weight measurement as I currently only own one scale. This way no one was on the sidelines of the process for too long.

Once you have the logistics for your bath bomb recipe worked out, type up an instruction sheet for your DIY bath bomb party guests in a word program. Then simply print off enough sheets for everyone who will be in attendance. (You’ll want your guests to RSVP early so you have time to purchase enough supplies for everyone as well as to print off the correct amount of instruction sheets you’ll need. It’s up to you whether or not you’ll charge a materials fee.)

Step Three

Once you’ve decided on your recipe and options, you’ll need to decide what type of bath bomb mold to use. I opted for halving the bath bomb recipe I chose in order to use smaller 1.75″ diameter round bath bomb molds. This allowed everyone to make a handful of bath bombs rather than just one or two large ones.

In addition, it also enabled everyone to take their bath bombs home while they were still in the molds. This way no one felt pushed to unmold their bath bombs too early. And no one had to worry about picking them up later if they chose to wait. It also kept their bath bombs from being damaged in transport home and they got to keep their molds. The smaller molds also allowed more guests to attend without driving up the cost of purchasing enough large 2.75″ bath bomb molds for everyone to create several bath bombs each.

Otherwise, you’ll need to allow enough time during your DIY bath bomb party for the bath bombs to harden enough to be unmolded prior to your guests leaving.

Step Four

Either the night before or the morning of, create a basic DIY bath bomb party kit for each of the guests who will be in attendance. By doing this, your guests don’t need to fight for access to a scale in order to weigh each of the ingredients. It also makes the process less daunting for first timers and leaves more time for social interaction.

For my DIY bath bomb party kits I weighed out 1 oz. of cocoa butter (per my recipe sheet) for each guest and put it into a snack sized zipper bag. I then weighed out and combined baking soda and SLSA into a sandwich zipper bag for each guest along with a third bag with the citric acid. Each kit was then placed into a brown paper bag with the three ingredient bags and bath bomb molds.

Step Five

With your DIY bath bomb kits ready to go and guests arriving later in the day, it’s time to lay out your additional ingredients that your party guests can choose to use in addition to the kits.

For my carrier oils and Polysorbate 80 I filled 2-3 small 2 oz. bottles for each liquid ingredient. This allowed more hands to access the same ingredients at the same time. This also helped to prevent cross contamination on larger bottles of ingredients that you’ll be using in future products. You can do the same thing with your fragrance or essential oils if desired. Or simply be sure everyone is using a fresh pipette when they are adding more valuable resources that you aren’t able to divide into smaller containers for this purpose.

Make sure to label your smaller containers with sticker paper so everyone knows what’s inside of each one.

I then filled low profile jars with various clays and botanicals and labeled them as well. I left my mica colors and glitter in the original containers.

Be sure to set up a container of fresh pipettes and measuring spoons on your ingredient table along with large glass mixing bowls – one for each guest – utensils and/or large glass Pyrex measuring cups. If you only have one set of measuring spoons and are short on glass mixing bowls, ask if some of your DIY bath bomb party attendees can bring a set of their own.

You’ll also need to set out the bath bomb recipe instruction sheets and some pens. In addition, I also included a roll of masking tape for everyone to tape their bath bomb molds closed together once they were made for easier transport home.

Step Six

It’s finally time to get your party on! Once everyone arrives for the party I recommend kicking things off with light appetizers or a cheese tray and some wine or sangria. Unless of course you’re hosting a teenage DIY bath bomb party. In which case you could whip up one or two pitcher mocktails just for fun!

Once everyone has had a chance to get settled in, do a meet and greet to get comfortable. Then pass out the instruction sheets, kits and pens to each party guest. Go over the basics of making their bath bombs then instruct the group as begin the fun filled journey of making their very own DIY bath bombs!

Once everyone had completed their individual bath bombs at my party, my guests also combined the leftover bath bomb mix they’d made into layers into a popsicle mold to make unicorn horn bath bombs. These made for some really creative unicorn horn bath bombs especially since everyone chose different additives and fragrances.

I unmolded the unicorn bath bombs the next morning – you do need to give these a solid tap to get them out – and distributed them among my friends in attendance the next time I saw them.